Thursday, October 28, 2010

SINGAPORE - Your joints are acting up again. To relieve the pain, you pop some pain relief medication bought from the pharmacy.

This scenario is not uncommon among chronic pain sufferers. Rather than seek medical attention, most people cope with pain by self-medicating with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

Findings from a survey, sponsored by biopharmaceutical company Pfizer, on 1,220 chronic pain patients in China, Taiwan and Thailand found that about 60 per cent of the respondents practise some form of self-medication to ease their persistent aches and pains.

Dr Alex Yeo, director of the pain specialist clinic at Mt Elizabeth Hospital, and president of the Pain Association Of Singapore, presented the survey findings at the Asian Pacific Digestive Week held in Malaysia last month.

Although Singapore patients did not take part in the survey, Dr Yeo said the findings are also applicable here. From experience, he has seen countless patients who often self-medicate because they hope to achieve some control over the pain.

Chronic pain, defined as pain associated with medical conditions and which persists for more than six months, is a significant problem in Singapore. In a local survey initiated by the Pain Association Of Singapore last year, it was found that approximately 8.7 per cent of the population suffer from the problem.

Women - about 10.9 per cent of the respondents - were also more likely to get it.

The survey findings are worrying. Without a doctor’s supervision, prolonged use of certain pain relief medication can be detrimental to health, said Dr Yeo.

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